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Jurgen Klopp intervenes as furious Virgil van Dijk 'abuses' officials over Liverpool red
Virgil van Dijk was sent off in a nightmare first half for Liverpool against Newcastle.
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Jurgen Klopp intervened by appearing to push Virgil van Dijk down the tunnel after the Liverpool defender was sent off against Newcastle. Van Dijk was dismissed for the first time in his Reds career after hacking down Aleksandar Isak to deny a clear goalscoring opportunity.
The Dutchman was clearly furious with the decision and took a while to leave the pitch. He continued to shout at referee John Brooks, with Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville suggesting he was 'abusing' the official.
Van Dijk eventually walked towards the touchline and continued to shout at the fourth official, appearing to swear in his face. Liverpool boss Klopp then seemed to intervene to prevent his experienced star from getting into further trouble.
Klopp was seen gently pushing Van Dijk down the tunnel and away from the scene, where the defender clearly wanted to continue arguing his case to the fourth official. The German then continued the protestations with the officials, risking being reprimanded himself.
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Van Dijk's red card came as part of a chaotic first half for Liverpool at St. James' Park. Fellow defender Trent Alexander-Arnold escaped a sending-off inside the first six minutes.
The England defender was booked after three minutes for throwing the ball away after a decision did not go his way - now considered a mandatory yellow card under guidelines issued to referees at the start of the season. The right-back then cynically brought down Anthony Gordon just moments later.
Referee Brooks let off a sheepish Alexander-Arnold with just a warning. But it was the England ace's mistake that led to Newcastle opening the scoring midway through the first half.
Mohamed Salah’s poor pass proved too difficult for Alexander-Arnold to control, allowing Gordon to race clear on goal. The former Everton winger clinically finished beyond Alisson.
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Newcastle then had a chance to make it 2-0. Isak collected Gordon’s pass and appeared to be one-versus-one with Alisson, only for Van Dijk to wildly bring down the Swede.
Brooks had no choice but to show a red card to the 32-year-old. Van Dijk will miss Liverpool’s clash with Aston Villa next weekend but his seeming abuse of the referee and fourth official could land him an extended suspension.
Speaking on Sky’s commentary of the game, former Manchester United defender Neville said: "He's now abusing the official. You just need to take your medicine and get off the pitch. We've all been there."